Day 1: Preseason

Sporting Kansas City held their first training session of the 2013 season on Friday morning kicking things off with the beep test. It was a tight competition with a lot of guys coming in flying despite the absence of last years reigning campion Matt Besler. Besler is currently with the United States Men's National Team in Carson, Calif. But his offseason training posse of Seth Sinovic and Kyle Miller had a strong showing as they came in the top three. Michael Thomas finished first with a V02 score of 65.8 according to Sporting KC fitness coach Mateus Manoel.

Besler, Sinovic, and Miller all decided to get gym memberships to a nearby fitness center in Olathe to help elevate each others fitness in the offseason. "We focused a lot on conditioning and stuck to our offseason program. We made it a point everyday to get together in the mornings and do the conditioning and weights outlined by Mateus in our workout packets," said Miller.

Graham Zusi also worked out with that group during the offseason, but missed the beep test this morning as he too is in California with the USMNT. Accoding to the international chatter, it appears group workouts faired well for Zusi too.

Whether working with a group or individually during the offseason, it seems that there was one common thread amongst the top tier of finishers in today's testing: a dedication to the offseason training guide. "I followed the offseason fitness program that Mateus gave us pretty much to a tee, so I felt really good coming back. Following the offseason training package helps us to get everything done a little bit faster so we can focus on soccer more from the beginning," said Thomas.

Bobby Convey is another guy who did his homework this offseason. Convey, who is committed to coming back from injuries last season, appeared to waste no time this offseason. Convey finish just behind Sinovic, Thomas and Miller in the testing and also attributes the success to his commitment to offseason workouts.

The team will leave for Arizona for their first leg of preseason this Sunday.